OLED displays to integrate solar power cells

As we continue to ask our portable gadgets to perform more powerful operations, an increasing issue is the ability to carry around enough juice to do it all (and to last you at least all day). Scientists at Cornell University are working on a way to create OLED displays that can be their own power source. How? By adding a conducting film on top of a two-layer OLED.

This extra layer absorbs the sunlight (more specifically, the negative ions) and translates it into usable energy. Not only is this process said to provide enough power to light up the OLED display itself, but it may even recharge the battery for the device (MP3 player, cell phone, etc.) as a whole. More tests need to be conducted, but this is a distinct possibility for the future of portable electronics.